1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel high profile sill assembly and low profile sill assembly that share many components to permit common sills to be used in different door jamb designs without altering the sill assembly. A series of components are provided that can be used on both the high profile sill assembly and the low profile sill assembly such that sill assemblies can be configured for single doors, double doors, fixed panels and the like.
A novel adjustable rail assembly for a high profile sill assembly is provided. The adjustable rail assembly includes a series of adjustor assemblies that can be used to adjust the height of the rail with respect to the sill assembly. The adjustor assemblies are integrated into the sill assembly. The adjustor assemblies are placed under adjustable rail, fixed rail and any sidelite spacers.
The present invention further relates to another novel adjustable rail assembly for a high profile sill assembly. The adjustable rail assembly includes a series of spacer components that can be used to adjust the height of the rail with respect to the sill assembly without the use of adjustment screws or adjustor assemblies. The spacer components uniformly support the rail assembly on the sill assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Adjustable exterior door sills have traditionally utilized a rail that is attached with adjusting screws into the sill through tapped holes, as shown in FIG. 1A. Adjustable sill rails in the past have relied heavily on the use of screws, which are fixed to the rail. Current rails either have exposed bolts or circular screw covers. Exposed bolts tend to rust, corrode and also provide a leak path across the rail. Circular screw covers also disrupt the sealing surface between the door sweep and rail. They also have a tendency to loosen over time and become lost. This rail design, with its fixed location, does not allow an assembler to have inventory flexibility. This sill design forces an assembler to inventory a unique sill for each door configuration. An assembler must stock components for every possible configuration and size.
Adjustable sill rails in the past have relied heavily on the use of screws. There are inherent drawbacks to using screws in a sill assembly. Screws require significant time to assemble. Tap threads must be drilled into the sill base. The placement of these threads is critical to allow the assembly of the rail to the sill base. Because of the specific placement of the threads, one sill cannot be used for different door configurations or sizes. Furthermore, the materials used to form the sills and the rails have different rates of thermal expansion and moisture absorption. These environmental changes cause misalignment between the screws and the tapped holes. This misalignment leads to screws breaking or threads stripping, which leads to increased manufacturing costs and greater inventory requirements.
Current known low profile sill assemblies are not designed to accept components that are utilized on high profile sill assemblies. As result, the manufacturer and assembler of sill assemblies must maintain inventories of components for both high profile sill assemblies and low profile sill assemblies.